A Critical Analysis of the MND Criteria for Feigned Cognitive Impairment: Implications for Forensic Practice and Research

Forensic neuropsychology continues to grapple with critical determinations of response styles, including the assessment of malingering. The development of the Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction (MND) model has been highly influential for both feigning research and neuropsychological practice. In striving to be a comprehensive model of malingering, MND proposes complex criteria for ascertaining possible, probable, and definite levels. In its critical review, this article suggests the possibility of an MND bias towards the over-classification of malingering. It also examines the limits of MND research to adequately test the MND model. The conceptual and empirical limitations of MND are discussed with reference to theory and neuropsychological practice.